Happy St Patrick's Day

St. Patrick's Day is one of the boys favorite holidays.  I think it is safe to say that they may even look forward to this day just as much as Christmas.  Today they woke up at 6:15, which was way earlier than then woke up for Christmas. 

All week they have been talking and imagining about what kind mess those sneaky little leprechauns would make this year.  And all week I have been planning what kind of havoc those little leprechauns would do.  I admit that I look forward to this probably just as much as they do.

This is the sight that they saw when they got out of bed....

Somehow the leprechauns got into their room and made a huge mess while they were asleep.  I love the look on Layton's face.  He can't get over the fact that he never woke up while they were in their room.

Leprechaun foot prints in the kitchen.  What a mess!

Of course this was the boys favorite.   "Come look mom, they peed in our toilet!"

Caleb and I were still in bed when Layton came upstairs.  "Hurry up and get out of bed!  The leprechauns had a party here last night!"

Helping clean up the leprechaun party.

I think this grin might have a little bit of leprechaun in it.  Don't you think?

Boy moments

On another post I complained about my camera but as I said life must go on with my little Nikon.  It does an o.k. job but isn't nearly fast as our Nikon D70.  I get frustrated and as you can see so do the boys.

We started off o.k. but wasn't happy with the lighting...
Why did I think that I could do better?

With twin boys I should have just stopped hear but no, I still thought I could do better than this...

They are done holding still.  If my project isn't done in less than a minute forget it....

You can all tell where it goes from here....
If you need a hint this was the last picture out of about 40.

6 1/2 birthday

Last Friday (February 10th)  was the boys half birthday.  They are now 6 1/2!

Since they have a summer birthday and are not able to celebrate it at school with their friends and have cupcakes, wear a special crown and all the other special things that happen at school when it's your birthday, I asked the teacher if it was o.k. if we did a half birthday.   She was kind enough to agree.

It was the best half birthday ever!  At snack time they got to pass out rock climbing cupcakes (had to make mini ones so every student got 2, one from each boy), they also got to wear birthday crowns and be line leaders for the day.  A half birthday doesn't get much better than this.

I have to give my mom credit for this fabulous idea.  My birthday is December 21 (way to close to Christmas to have a birthday party).  Growing up she always made my half birthdays special since it was easier to get my friends together for a party.  Thanks mom!

It's been a long time....

It's been way too long since I last posted.  I do have an excuse, although it's kind of flaky.  Our camera, which I absolutely loved died.  My beloved Nikon D70 literally blinked and shut off never to turn back on again.  My heart sank to the pit of my stomach as I tried everything I could think of to fix it.  I even had Caleb take it into Green's Camera in Salinas.  They pronounced it officially dead.  

I still have my little Nikon coolpix but the quality of picture doesn't even compare.  I decided I have to move on and get over the loss of the D70 otherwise we would have a gap in the boys lives with no pictures.

The following 3 are pictures from my third attempt at getting a picture for our Christmas cards.  

Christmas morning taking their new quads for a ride.

Hope you all had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Piney Creek Hunting Hideout

Welcome to Piney Creek Hunting Hideout...

A few weeks ago the boys found an area not far from the house that they thought would make a great fort.  After taking us out there to show us, Caleb told them that on his next day at home he would go out there with a chain saw and help them make the inside more open and show them how to use branches to build walls on the outside.

Colton watching.

They worked for a good portion of the day making sure that their new place was perfect.

Once all was complete they moved in all the important things.

Of course food is necessary for boys so they brought in a table and chairs.  

All little boys have to have their wagon and tools because you just never know when you may have to dig something up and haul it around. 

My personal favorite is our dog Tess.  I love how she hangs out in there with the boys.  

Having the first of many snacks in their new hunting hideout.

After much discussion they finally decided to name their new fort/hideout, Piney Creek Hunting Hideout.  Layton had some VERY different ideas that only a boy would come up with that Caleb and I quickly told him to come up with something different.  Colton on the other hand thought just Fort would be great.  Layton wanted something to do with hunting and Colton wanted it to have something to do with nature, so that is how they finally came up with Piney Creek Hunting Hideout.

Many good times and interesting stories are sure to come from their hunting hideout.

Thankful

     The other day I looked out and this is what I saw....

Two boys playing and the family dog keeping watch...

As I watched them play from a distance it hit me that this is it.  This is our dream come true.

Way before Caleb and I were married we use to talk and dream about what we wanted for our future.  We dreamed about living out in the country.  We dreamed about having children.  So here we are living out in the country on a beautiful piece of property with our twin boys.  Of course having twin boys makes the dream even more perfect and having the family dog is the cherry on top!  Yes,  I am thankful for dreams coming true.

Every day we worry.  We worry about what we don't have.  We worry about getting that next job to make ends meet.  But how often do I stop and thank Jesus for what we do have?  I look around me and I am surrounded by things to be thankful for.  Most of all I have been blessed with a beautiful loving family.  I have a husband who goes above and beyond to provide for us and children who have brought so much love and laughter into our home.  Like I said before I am thankful for dreams coming true.

Hope you all have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Boys and their jobs

We finally had a weekend at home with no where to go.  Over the past month I haven't had a whole day at home with the boys.  Either I've had to work or they have gone to work with Caleb.  Today I was able to get caught up around the house and the boys spent the whole day outside working various "jobs."

Their first "job" of the day was working on making a path from the house to the chicken coop.

The shirt says it all.

Job sight #2.  Before lunch we took a walk down to the creek to see how much it changed after the rain we had yesterday.    At first they wanted to build a fort but then it quickly turned into a "job".
So it was back up to the house for a quick lunch and a chance to pack up their tools to go back to work.

All packed up and headed back down to the creek.  

A close up of what they packed.  All kinds of crazy odds and ends.  

The minds of little boys and their imaginations...

 Just about every piece in this wagon had some sort of purpose for their "job."

Little wrangler butts melt my heart...

My hard working boys. 

Watching TV on our bed rarely happens.  To make it even better, Hogs Gone Wild (their all time favorite show) was on.
It was a good day.  I'm looking forward to the week of Thanksgiving when the boys have the whole week off.  What a treat that will be with most of those days at home.